Formulary
Cyproterone acetate: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Cyproterone acetate clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Cyproterone acetate: Indications, Dosing, Side Effects and Interactions
Cyproterone acetate clinical drug profile including indications, dosing, side effects, cautions and interactions.
Indications and dose
**Hyper-sexuality in males,Sexual deviation in males**
- **Adult** (By Mouth): 50 mg twice daily, to be taken after food.
**Prevention of tumour flare with initial gonadorelin analogue therapy**
- **Adult** (By Mouth): (male) 200 mg daily in 2-3 divided doses for 5-7 days before initiation of gonadorelin analogue, followed by 200 mg daily in 2-3 divided doses for 3-4 weeks after initiation of gonadorelin analogue; maximum 300 mg per day.
**Long-term palliative therapy where gonadorelin analogues or orchidectomy contra-indicated, not tolerated, or where oral therapy preferred**
- **Adult** (By Mouth): (male) 200-300 mg daily in 2-3 divided doses.
**Hot flushes with gonadorelin analogue therapy or after orchidectomy**
- **Adult** (By Mouth): (male) Initially 50 mg daily, then adjusted according to response to 50-150 mg daily in 1-3 divided doses.
**Gonadotrophin-independent precocious puberty (specialist use only) for cyproterone acetate**
- **Child** (By mouth): Initially 25 mg twice daily, adjusted according to response.
Cautions
Diabetes mellitus; in prostate cancer, severe depression; in prostate cancer, sickle-cell anaemia; ineffective for male hypersexuality in chronic alcoholism (relevance to prostate cancer not known)
Contraindications
General contra-indications: Dubin-Johnson syndrome; existing or history of thromboembolic disorders; malignant diseases (except for carcinoma of the prostate); meningioma or history of meningioma; previous or existing liver tumours (not due to metastases from carcinoma of the prostate); Rotor syndrome; wasting diseases (except for inoperable carcinoma of the prostate) Specific contra-indications: When used for hypersexuality Severe depression; severe diabetes (with vascular changes); sickle-cell anaemia
Side effects
Common or very common Depressed mood; dyspnoea; fatigue; gynaecomastia; hepatic disorders; hot flush; hyperhidrosis; nipple pain; restlessness; weight change Uncommon Skin reactions Rare or very rare Galactorrhoea; meningioma (increased risk with increasing cumulative dose); neoplasms Frequency not known Adrenocortical suppression; anaemia; azoospermia; hair changes; hypotrichosis; osteoporosis; sebaceous gland underactivity (may clear acne); thromboembolism Side-effects, further information Direct hepatic toxicity including jaundice, hepatitis and hepatic failure have been reported (fatalities reported, usually after several months, at dosages of 100 mg and above). If hepatotoxicity is confirmed, cyproterone should normally be withdrawn unless the hepatotoxicity can be explained by another cause such as metastatic disease (in which case cyproterone should be continued only if the perceived benefit exceeds the risk).
Interactions
**Other interactions (5):**
- Thiazolidinediones (i.e.
- Chronic alcoholism : Alcohol appears to reduce the effect of Androcur which is of no value in chronic alcoholics.
- However, since cyproterone acetate is metabolised by CYP3A4, it is expected that ketoconazole, itraconazole, clotrimazole, ritonavir and other strong inhibitors of CYP3A4 inhibit the metabolism of...
- On the other hand, inducers of CYP3A4 such as rifampicin, phenytoin and products containing St.
- The risk of statin-associated myopathy or rhabdomyolysis may be increased when those HMG-CoA inhibitors (statins) which are primarily metabolised by CYP3A4 are co-administered with high cyproterone...
Hepatic impairment
Manufacturer advises avoid (unless used for prostate cancer).
Medicinal forms
Tablet
Clinical governance
**Author:** MedNext Clinical Team. **Clinical reviewer:** Dr Shameer Deen, MBBS, MS, MRCS. **Sources:** BNF, Indian Pharmacopoeia, CIMS India. **Correction:** Report errors at support@mednext.academy.
Inside MedNext for this topic
- 411 MedNext-authored chapters
- 80,000+ MCQ bank
- 15 study modes
- Growing visual cheat sheets
Study modes
- Notes
- MCQ
- Audio
- Video
- Visual
- 3D Anatomy
- Trace
- Flashcards
- Mnemonics
- Image Bank
- Clinical
- Microscopy
- Audio QBank
- Cadaver
- Book Match
Continue reading
Subject HubPharmacology Hub
All pharmacology resources in one place.
Drug SchedulesIndian Drug Schedules
Schedule H, H1, X and G classifications.
FormularyBrowse all drugs
Search 1,850+ drug profiles.
Study Cyproterone acetate in the MedNext app
Challenge yourself with targeted pharmacology MCQs on this drug class. Every explanation links back to the chapter that teaches the concept.
Start drug challengeExplore the full formulary

